After 14 years, major Kentucky whiskey is releasing its first age-stated bottle
.png "Angel’s Envy 10 Cask Strength is this year’s version of the label’s popular annual cask strength release. This year’s version has layers of nuanced flavor rather than being a “port bomb.”")
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Angel’s Envy debuts 10-year age-stated Cask Strength whiskey, a first for the brand.
- New 2020 federal rules allow collective aging statements for finished bourbons.
- Only 24,480 bottles released nationwide on Oct. 10 at $249.99 per 750mL bottle.
Angel’s Envy is releasing its first age-stated release, and they are kicking it off with the popular Cask Strength.
This year’s version is Angel’s Envy 10 Cask Strength. The limited edition annual release was aged a total of 10 years, some as a bourbon in new oak barrels and the remainder for up to three years in port wine barrels from Portugal.
Master distiller Owen Martin said a change in the federal rules in 2020 now allows brands that specialize in finishing, such as Angel’s Envy, to put a collective age on a whiskey.
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How does Cask Strength 10 taste?
Bottled at 122.6 proof, this expression is the highest proof since 2018, he said.
Although it’s a higher proof than many versions, it also is a bit mellower: Martin said he blended whiskey aged in port wine barrels that had been used only once as well as those used twice.
That gave this version new layers and depth, he said in an interview.
“A lot of past Cask Strength releases are what I would describe as port bombs, right? The emphasis is on the port finishing,” he said. Finishing this version differently allowed him to age longer and yet not overwhelm the flavor of the original bourbon, he said.
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On the nose, Angel’s Envy 10 Cash Strenth is sweet cinnamon toast and creamy fruit nougat over candied nuts. On the palate, it’s rich notes of baklava, rip apricot, creme brulee and cognac, with a finish of rum raisin cake, according to the tasting notes.
Where to buy Angel’s Envy 10
Only 24,480 bottles are available. The release goes out nationwide beginning Oct. 10 at select U.S. retailers and at the Angel’s Envy Distillery in Louisville. It has a suggested retail price of $249.99 for a 750mL bottle. Some bottles will be available for purchase online at angelsenvy.com.
Martin said that Angel’s Envy has been releasing Cask Strength since 2012.
“Fourteen years in, we’re still trying to advance the conversation, show people new wrinkles to the releases. And we kind of decided that this year was a good one that we could show off an age statement,” he said. “A lot of times we’ve put older liquid in a bottle, but we haven’t showcased that with the number itself. ... For bourbon consumers, that is one way to denote quality. And for us it’s kind of showing us growing up, so to speak.”
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The release date of Oct. 10 was chosen to honor what was meant to be the original release date of the first version of Angel’s Envy, which was postponed for further aging. The date has become a brand mantra to aim for readiness, not timeliness.
Now that Angel’s Envy is in its 15th year, with nine years of distilling, where might the brand go next?
“We’re already talking about releases that are coming out in 2033 internally,” he said. “Eventually, that’ll be stuff that we distilled under my watch and grain bills, that I’ve come up with, new fermentations, that sort of thing. ... You’ve only seen one shoe drop so far. We haven’t even shown the range of what we have to showcase yet.”
